POSTINGS: Hebrew Hospital Home in Greenburgh to Include 40-Bed Alzheimer's Unit

New Nursing Home Rising in Westchester

Published: December 22, 1996

Residents with Alzheimer's dementia will have the freedom of walking safely around their own landscaped garden when the new two-story Hebrew Hospital Home of Westchester is completed on a 30-acre site along Grasslands Road in the Town of Greenburgh by the summer of 1998.

''There has been a need for long-term care beds, especially for Alzheimer's patients in Westchester County,'' said Mary Frances Barrett, chief executive officer of Hebrew Hospital Home, which broke ground on the $20 million project this month.

The Hebrew Hospital Home, established in 1928, now provides nonprofit, nonsectarian care for the elderly in a more urban setting -- the Co-op City section of the Bronx. The new 87,000-square-foot, 160-bed facility will devote a 40-bed unit to residents with Alzheimer's dementia. Two other 40-bed units will provide traditional nursing care, while another 40-bed unit will be split into two 20-bed units. A short-term restorative rehabilitation (30 to 90 days) unit will provide physical therapy to those recovering from strokes and orthopedic injuries; the other will provide medical care for patients with acute cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease.

''The residents will be allowed maximum amount of freedom and choice, given their frail condition,'' said Peter Samton, partner in charge at Gruzen Samton whose specialties include designing facilities for the elderly.

Corridors have been done away with. Each 20-bed cluster is to have a space where patients can sit and perhaps play a game of cards. Rooms will lead into social spaces. Outside there will be walking paths and benches, and the facility's brick veneer and shingle roofs will fit in with the rest of the community.

The Hebrew Hospital Home also has development plans for its 30 adjoining acres, where a house is to be converted into an adult day health-services facility beginning next summer. Construction on 120 units of independent housing is expected to begin there in two years.

Photo: Rendering of Hebrew Hospital Home, which will have 160 beds. (Louis Blanc for Gruzen Samton)